I've seen people take their phone to an Apple store outside warranty and either been offered an exchange or a refurbished model at a highly discounted rate.

Well worth asking.

This is true, usually about £140 for a refurbished item if you go to an apple store with your current phone, you may even get them on a good day and they will do a free exchange for you depending how long the phone has been out of warranty.

well its the original Iphone 3GS - so I assuming a free replacement is well out of the question!
Its served me well to be fair - but I can get a free upgrade in October, so I was thinking about buying something to use in the meantime, then sell it on when I get another phone.

I need something sharpish as my Mrs is preganant.

next time I go somewhere that has an Apple store then I can take it in and ask.

You may have tried this but ring Orange and choose the options that lead to 'I want to leave Orange' They are able to offer you an upgrade 3 months before your contracted date at huge discounts. You will talk to 'customer retention' instead of 'sales' or 'customer service' (same guys but they get a different computer screen with more options due to the route you took on the automated press#x forx)

I have just done this and got a SIII at a massively discounted rate (Good as free) 3 months early.

Another option is to go to Phones 4U and have them buy you out of your current contract to start another one. Check what would happen to your magic numbers etc, even staying with Orange as this could be a factor if you have been with them a long time and use the loyalty benefits.

Best bet is ring Orange and just say to them "I want a phone now or I will leave at the end of this call." It's amazing how their attitude will change

I think you and I must be the only people left on earth that think like this.

Add me to that list too.

I use a mobile for errrr... phoning. That's all. And not much of that either.
I got a SIM card a few years ago. 50 minutes per month for £24, which suited me fine. That's £24, one-off payment, 50 minutes per month for life. Often don't use that much!

exactly right Rich, whatever is saved on the handset, is made back through the tariff Im sure.

ive been with orange near on 15 years (used to work for them infact) and as such they have thrown me a few deals over the years, i get 400mins, and god knows how many texts, for £12/month.
i never use all the minutes, i never the use all the texts.
so to pay out 400-500 quid for something I dont really use that much, just doesnt make sense.

only other thing I do find useful is a camera, for videoing the golf swing up the range. handy, but not essential. ha ha

so bit disappointed that they havent choosen to incentivise me. but loyalty in the mobile phone market is probably long gone, and im not exactly a big spender either in the grand scheme of things.

plus, I just wanted something small in my pocket (cue jokes) not a mini laptop with a camera and tea making facilities (i have both of those seperately already).

hahahahahaha...that right there, Sir, has just made my week!! gingerbread is a version of the android os......not the smell of the phone!!

and its only Monday??

i was only joking by the way, i know what gingerbread is. everyone knows its nothing to do with a phone, and what they make those little biscuit mean out of.
i love pulling their legs off first, then pull the choc drops from their eyes.....

I only upgrade every year because I feel the bastards owe me something. I couldn't really give a shit about the new technology as I'll never use it.

The funny thing is that my handset probably isn't subsidised as I'm on the lowest possible number of minutes/texts with web bundled in and I get a 50% staff discount from t-mobile. I've never worked for them but know a guy who knows another guy who knows some shit and the deal just keeps getting applied to every new contract.